Zelda the Hero
by Deedso
Summary: Something very bad has happened in Hyrule, and it's up to Zelda to save the kingdom. Will she be able to save Hyrule before it's too late?


I sat quietly and stared out the window at the dark realm that surrounded Ganon's tower. Where was Link? He should be here by now, I thought. I was about to turn around when something caught my eye in the distance. A little blue light was coming towards me, swerving and darting around. When it got a little closer I could make out a pair of tiny wings. It was Navi! What was she doing here? Shouldn't she be with Link? I knew something was definitely wrong.

After a few moments Navi raced into the cold stone room with incredible speed. She fluttered around me in panic.

"Zelda! Princess Zelda!" Her tiny voice called out.

"What? What's going on? Has something happened?" I asked.

"Something terrible! Its Link. Hes-"

Just then, giant booms started coming from the bottom of the stairwell, shaking the room each time. I shook my head in frustration because I knew Ganon was coming. Navi seemed to know too, and she started tugging my hand towards the window.

"Zelda we have to go! If we don't get out of here before Ganondorf comes up then you will never escape!"

Ganon's giant steps were becoming louder every time. I hurried to the window and leaned out, looking down at the sheer drop to the ground below. My stomach started to churn from my fear of heights, and my head started to spin. The only way down from here was to climb, unless I wanted to jump to my death. Navi hovered closely behind as I started my descent down the side of the tower.

"Don't look down Zelda, DO NOT look down!" I muttered to myself, trying to keep my shaky, sweaty grip on the stone bricks.

"You can do it Zelda! Its easy once you get the hang of it!" Navi yelled at me, trying to keep me from giving up. Easy for her to say, I thought to myself, she can just fly down.

I was halfway down the side of the tower when I heard the door crashing open in the room far above. I could hear Ganon's voice bellow in anger when he realized I wasn't in the room, and I could only imagine the equal expression on his ugly face. I continued to scale down the side but looked up to see Ganondorf's green-skinned and orange-bearded face looking down at me.

"ZELDA!" he screamed with rage, "HOW DARE YOU TRY TO ESCAPE?!"

"Princess Zelda you have to jump! There's no way you can climb down fast enough. Ganon's guards will catch you if you don't!" Navi's little voice was a relief to my ears after Ganon's monstrous call.

I knew it was now or never. If I jumped, then I might be able to make a great escape (if my legs didn't break), and save Link and Hyrule Kingdom. If I didn't jump, then I would have to finish my agonizing descent to the bottom. By then, Ganon's guards would have already recaptured me. It was my time to be a hero. My time to save the day. I took a few deep breaths, closed my eyes, and began to count.

"5...4...3...2..."

I let go of the wall, and felt gravity pull me down to earth.

The next thing I knew, I was laying on the ground next to the castle, staring up at the dark stormy sky with a throbbing headache. I blocked my eyes from Navi's bright glow when she hovered right above my face, which had my long blonde hair strewn across it.

"Hey! Are you ok?" Navi exclaimed.

When I sat up and pulled my hair behind my pointy ears, I noticed my crown had fallen off. I saw it glimmering a few feet away and reached for it. There was no point in putting it back on, and there was no time anyways, so I tucked it into my dress with a sigh. I stood up and Navi started frantically tugged on my finger, urging me to start moving.

"Come on! I bet they're almost here! We better run"

I broke out into a sprint, which was slightly awkward in a long dress. Going this fast was no problem for Navi, who flew faster than a hummingbird as we crossed the bridge over the lava pit that surrounded the castle. More of my hair came undone from the wrap it was in, so I stopped and tied it back before moving again, headed towards the Lost Woods.

After what seemed like an eternity of running, Navi came to a stop. I was breathing heavily, and took off my white gloves, revealing the triforce symbol on the back of my hand. Something was wrong with it, though. The bottom right triangle was faded and almost appeared to be in pieces.

"Navi, what happened to Link?" I asked, remembering I still didn't quite know what was going on.

"Well, we were on our way to Ganon's tower to rescue you, and out of nowhere Dark Link appeared. Just before he was captured, Link split the triforce of courage, which spread all over Hyrule to keep it safe. Luckily I was able to get away, but I have no idea where he's taking him."

"He must've taken him to the Great Palace. It's the only place."

"But remember, we have to get the pieces of the triforce before we can defeat Dark Link, Zelda. Link broke it into three pieces, so it won't be that hard."

"Right, so what are we waiting for?"

"Oh, I almost forgot! Link dropped the Master Sword somewhere around here, which you will probably need for our journey. I think its somewhere near here... aha!"

Navi raced towards a small clearing of trees, where a metal sword shimmered in the sunlight. I went over and picked it up, admiring its beauty and power, before putting it back in its sheath, which rested a couple feet away.

"So, where should we go first? Ah, I remember seeing one of the pieces being thrown in the direction of Death Mountain, which means we should probably go there first," Navi exclaimed.

"But wait," I said, remembering we were in the Lost Woods," How will we get out of here?"

"Oh... uh I didn't really think about that..."

"So we're lost? Navi, how will we ever save Link now!"

"I'm sorry Zelda! You're supposed to be the smart one! After all, you're the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, aren't you?"

I blew a few loose strands of hair off my face in a state of frustration, and began to pace back and forth, thinking of a solution. Just then, something started rustling in the bushes, and I took a few steps back. I raised the Master Sword just as a girl dressed in green popped out.

"Woah! No need to kill me!" she said, with a smile.

I immediately recognized her. She was Saria, the Sage of Forest. I knew her because I was the Leader of the Sages. She was dressed in all green, just like Link and the other Kokiris.

"Saria! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of the Kokiri?"

"I've been following you this whole time, Princess. I was out looking for a stick to make a bow when I heard you two scrambling through the trees. I'm quite a curious Kokiri, so I followed you and listened in the bushes."

"Saria, maybe you can help us get out of here!" Navi squealed with excitement.

"But remember Navi, Kokiri cannot go outside the perimeter of the Lost Woods... But I can show you the way out, and lead you to the path that goes to Death Mountain. Lets go!" she said as she walked off, with Navi and me trailing behind her.

We walked for at least an hour or two until the trees finally started to part and the sunlight revealed a path ahead of us.

"Well, there it is. Just follow that path until you reach the mountain. From there, some of the Goron people might be able to help you. Good luck, Princess Zelda!" she said and ran off, back to the Kokiri village.

"Thank you!" I called after her, before turning back to face the path up ahead.

Great, I thought, even more walking.

"Don't give up, Zelda! It's not that bad having to walk," Navi said, almost as if she was reading my thoughts.

"Navi you don't even have to walk. You just fly everywhere!" I said with an agitated tone.

"Do you really think that? Just because I don't have to walk that doesn't mean any of this is easier for me! You treat me like I'm not a person! I'm sick and tired of it Zelda. Good luck saving Link on your own," she said angrily before zooming away, leaving me to pout on my own.

"Navi, I didn't mean it like that!" I called out, but there was no use. She was already gone.

I let out a grumble of annoyance and continued on to Death Mountain, where I found a few of the Goron people. They looked like menacing yellow rock people, but were actually kind and showed me the easy route to the top of the mountain. It was a steep climb, but I managed to make it up to the cave entrance that lead into the depths of the mountain. I slowly walked deeper and deeper into the dark cave, not knowing what was ahead.

I followed a distant red glow at the end of the downhill stone tunnel until I reached a giant cavern. The whole room glowed with an eerie red light. There was a rock pedestal in the center of the cave that had the first piece of the Triforce of Courage floating atop it. I ran to grab it, because I wanted to get out of this mountain as quickly as I could. Just before I reached the pedestal, a large Goron stepped came out of nowhere. Darunia, the Sage of Fire, stood in front of me, looming above me.

"Zelda," he said with his god-like voice that echoed throughout the cavern,"You have come here for the first piece of the Triforce of Courage, have you not?"

"Yes. I need to save Link."

"I will give you the corner of the Triforce, but first I must give you valuable knowledge about the other pieces. The second piece you seek is inside Parapa Palace. You must cross Parapa Desert to reach it. The third and final piece is at the Island Palace. After you find all the pieces, they will join together and the Master Sword will once again have the power needed to defeat your biggest enemy. You must defeat Dark Link in a final battle to free Link from his slumber in the Great Palace. Once you do this, peace will be returned to all of Hyrule, and you can return to your normal life."

"Thank you Darunia. I would have never known where to go."

"Take this. I wish you good luck on your journey," he said as he handed me the piece of the Triforce, which glowed as I put it into my large pocket.

I walked back to the entrance of the tunnel and stood looking at the vastness of Hyrule. I began my descent to the bottom of the steep mountain, and said farewell to the Gorons along the way. I continued on my way to Parapa Desert, where I would find the second piece of the Triforce in Parapa Palace.

I spent another two hours making my way through the Graveyard, and soon through the small town of Rauru until I reached the vast Parapa Desert. I trudged across the heat of the desert sand for quite some time before I saw Parapa Palace on the distant horizon. I hurriedly walked to it and entered into the temple.

Inside the palace door was a long hallway. I followed it until I reached a corner which lead to another long hallway. At the end of the second hallway, there was large steel door with the Triforce symbol on it. I didn't know what else to do, so I pressed my hand with the Triforce mark onto the door. When my hand met with the cold metal, it started to glow, and soon the door began to melt away.

I stepped through the melted door into a giant stone room, bigger than the cavern in Death Mountain. There was a path above a lava pit that lead to a small island-like thing at the very end of the room. There was a pedestal on the island, similar to the first one, with the second piece of the Triforce of Courage floating right above it. This time I approached it more cautiously, waiting for another one of the Seven Sages to pop out and tell me where to go.

Instead, nothing happened. I grabbed the corner of the Triforce and put it in my pocket along with the other piece. I started to walk back on the floating path that was above the lava, but I was surprised when it started to fall behind me. I had to run across the narrow path or else the path itself would fall out from beneath me. I reached the door just in time to see the last part of the bridge fall into the hot pit of lava.

I walked down the hallways once again and came out to see the sun was almost setting. Night would fall soon, so I would have to hurry to get to the harbor town of Mido and find an Inn. As I walked back across the desert, my stomach began to growl and my lips felt dryer than sandpaper. I realized I hadn't had anything to eat or drink all day, and I was beginning to feel worn out. The adrenaline rush of going on this huge excursion was starting to wear off, and it was definitely taking its toll.

I stumbled across the desert for another half hour as the sky got darker and darker before I reached the welcoming lights of Mido. I walked through the dark road in the middle of town until I came upon the Mido Pub and Inn.

"Hello Miss," said the innkeeper as I walked in.

"Hello, I'm in need of a room for tonight."

"Well lucky for you we've got one room left. It'll be thirty rupees for the night," he said with a gruff accent.

"Oh uh... Well you see I don't have any rupees with me," I said nervously.

"Sorry Miss, if ya can't pay then ya can't stay!" he said with a chuckle.

"But sir, please. I'm the princess of Hyrule. You see, I'm on an urgent quest to save the hero Link and-"

"No excuses. Do you really think I'm gonna believe that you're the Princess of Hyrule? If you're the princess then I'm Ganondorf," he said, laughing even harder,"Just look at you. You're too ratty lookin' to be a princess. Sorry Miss, but rules are rules."

I sighed and turned to walk out, but just then I remembered my crown that was still in my pocket. Anyone would know I'm the real princess if I had it on. I quickly put it back onto my messy hair and went back to the Innkeeper. When he saw me his eyes widened in disbelief.

"It...It really is you! Oh, your Highness, I'm so very sorry. I had no idea that you actually were the great Princess Zelda! Please, I would be honored to let you stay in my Inn."

"Thank you sir," I said, proud of my quick thinking. Being a princess really did have it's benefits.

The next morning, I woke up and left of the Inn after a quick breakfast. I thanked the Innkeeper once more and headed towards the dock where I met a friendly fisherman who was willing to take me to the Island Palace, just about a mile away.

When we finally reached the island, I climbed out of the boat and hiked up the steep rock cliffs that surrounded the castle. I made it to the edge of the cliff and pulled myself up to see a giant castle up ahead. Right when I was about to open the entrance I heard a familiar little voice calling me.

"Zelda, I can't believe you actually made it!"

"Navi! What, you didn't think I could do it?"

"Well, I believed in you the whole time... And I'm sorry about getting mad at you yesterday. Fairies tend to have a bad temper you know."

"It's alright, Navi. I'm just glad you're back," I told her as I smiled with relief.

I opened the squeaky door of the tunnel and stepped inside with Navi following me as if she was on a tight leash. Unlike the last two which had tunnels and hallways, inside this palace was a huge spiral staircase that lead up to the second story of the castle. We walked up the stairs into the second room to find a hallway. I wasn't surprised to find the hallway, because by now I was used to them being there in every temple and palace.

And the end of the hallway was an open room that had no roof above it. The walls had fallen into ruin after so many years of being in the salty wind of the ocean. There, in the middle of the room, was the third and final pedestal with the last piece of the Triforce of Courage. Navi went ahead of me to make sure there were no traps or anything, and I followed her when we concluded it was safe. I picked up the last piece and looked at it with a smile. We were so close.

I took out the other two pieces of the Triforce and held them in front of me. The floating pieces began to glow with a blinding white light as it forged itself together again. When I opened my eyes the light was gone and the whole Triforce of Courage hovered right in front of me. As I grabbed it I noticed the broken part of the Triforce on my hand was back to normal. Now all we had to do was journey to the Great Palace and save Link.

Navi and I descended down the cliffside once again to find the fisherman still waiting for me. He took us just west of Old Kasuto town where the Valley of Death began.

"Well, Navi, this is it. Our final battle."

"I know you can do it, Zelda. You've made it this far already."

"Don't you mean WE have made it this far?" I smiled and walked down the path leading to the Great Palace.

I unsheathed the Master Sword for the first time since I first acquired it, and saw that it now had a faint glow that it didn't have before. I remembered Darunia saying something about how completing the Triforce would return all of the swords' power, so I guessed that must've been why.

This palace was immediately different when I stepped inside. Unlike the other palaces, this one had small monsters that I had to get through. Each one dissipated as I slashed it with the Master Sword. I walked through each corridor, defeating each and every monster along the way, until I finally reached a massive door. This one had the symbol of the Triforce on it too, so I did the same thing I did in the Parapa Palace. The symbol lit up, but unlike the other door, this one just simply opened.

Inside was a dark room, which I could feel was extremely big. I walked in, and Navi quickly raced over to Link who was laying unconscious at the other end of the room.

"Link!" I gasped as I ran to him, but I quickly stopped when the room was suddenly filled with light, revealing a dark figure standing over Link.

He looked like a standing shadow of Link, except that he filled the room with evil. I was horrified when he began to chuckle as he walked towards me, raising a solid black sword of his own.

"Zelda, look out!" Navi warned me just before he came charging at me, but it was too late.

The sharp edge of his shadow sword struck my arm just before I deflected it with the Master sword. I let out a yelp of pain when I looked down to see the bleeding gash in my arm.

I swung my sword at him frantically, but the only damage I could do was a small scrape on his chest where the blade barely missed him. He swung again and I managed to block it with my sword, but the impact sent me sprawling to the ground. I got up quickly and began to walk backwards to where Link and Navi where.

"Princess, use this!" Navi said as she slid Link's wooden shield over to me. I equipped it just in time for me to block another blow from Dark Link's menacing weapon.

His sword got stuck in the wood of the shield and I saw the opportunity to attack. I swung my sword in one last attempt at defeating him, and it cut through the middle of his torso, releasing a shower of light as he disintegrated onto the ground.

I stared in awe for a few moments at the pile of light on the floor, which was now fading into ashes.

"Zelda? Is that really you?"

I spun around to see Link staring at me, holding his golden-haired head with a tired look on his face.

"Link! Link, you're okay!" I ran and wrapped my arms around him with a huge smile.

"What happened? I feel like I've missed a lot," he grumbled.

"Believe me," I said with a little laughter,"It's a long story."


End file.
